Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or this world. I'm only playing with them for a short while and promise to put them back promptly.

Author's Note: This is an AU, diverging from canon after the battle of Black Water Bay. Sansa is somewhat older in this story than in canon as well.

W.I.N.T.E.R.I.S.C.O.M.I.N.G.W.I.N.T.E.R.I.S.C.O.M. I.N.G.

Sansa left the throne room in a daze. She was free of Joffrey….finally free. He'd set her aside. She was unable to help the small smile that curved her lips, or the relief that flooded through her.

"I hear congratulations are in order." A smooth voice sounded from behind her.

Sansa turned, face wiped clean of her joy. "My Lord?" It was Lord Varys.

"You're free of the King…at least free of being his Queen." He smiled. "May I walk with you a moment Lady Stark?" He asked, curious to see what the Queen's little pet was truly made of.

"If it pleases you, my Lord." She said politely and fell into step with him. Sansa knew little of the Master of Whispers, save that he was a powerful and dangerous man.

"Everyone speaks of your courtesies, Lady Sansa," he smiled, "even the small folk. It's remarkable really. I often find myself wondering what's behind those carefully guarded Tully-blue eyes of yours." Varys looked at her as they walked into the gardens.

"I don't know what you mean. I live only to serve the king." Sansa answered automatically, looking firmly ahead.

"Better to serve the realm, my Lady." He said a little sadly. "I've now served several Kings, but the realm always remains no matter who sits upon the Iron throne." He gestured to a bench beside the fountain. "We should be friends, you and I." Varys wasn't sure yet what part Sansa Stark had to play, but his instincts were rarely wrong. Something had made him seek her out, and he would not ignore that little voice in his ear.

"Why would anyone want to be my…friend?" Sansa sat down, regarding the strange man suspiciously.

"Why would they not?" He countered and sat beside her. "If the worst should happen and your brother dies, you are heir to Winterfell and the North. Beyond that you are a beautiful young woman, with a far keener mind than most…if I am right about you." He reminded her. "The Queen may call you her little dove, but I know there is more wolf to you than that. A bird left in a cage soon loses its song, but a wolf never loses the look of the wild in its eyes, no matter how long it is caged. You may try and hide it behind your soft-spoken words and courtesies, but I see it."

Sansa looked down to hide her thoughts from the perceptive man. "All I have left are my courtesies…it's the only armor left to me." She whispered.

"You are sorely sort of allies here. That is true. It is all the more reason to let me be your friend Sansa Stark." Varys felt for the girl. He rarely entertained pity, in his line of work it was a dangerous emotion. However, Varys understood how it felt to have your life played with. "I wish I could have helped your father when Lord Baelish betrayed him, but I was too late." He sighed, and subtly gave her the most vital piece of information he could impart.

Sansa's head snapped up and looked at him intently. "Petyr Baelish betrayed my father?" A rage showed through in her eyes then. How dare he pretend to be a friend!

"I am afraid it is true." He nodded. "If I can do no more than warn you that his motives are less than honorable, I have done more for you than I had hoped to accomplish. Promise me that you will tell me if he approaches you, in any manner. He is perhaps the most dangerous man in all of Westeros."

Sansa swallowed her anger and closed her eyes a moment. She nodded then and let out a deep breath. "He's offered to try and get me out of King's Landing." She said quietly.

"For the moment, you need to play along with his schemes." Varys smiled then, a dark smile. "If we are clever, and careful, we can make sure he pays for what he has done to your family. Would that please you?" He asked, wanting to take the measure of the girl facing him.

"It would please me greatly." She agreed, some steel showing in her voice.

"Then you must speak of our conversation to no one. Lord Baelish has almost as many spies as I do in King's Landing. Keep playing the game, just as you have been." Varys stood and smiled. "If he approaches you again, write down the details of the encounter and place the note under your mattress, I will receive it." He nodded. "Until we speak again, my Lady Stark." He bowed slightly and left before anyone noticed their meeting.

Sansa lingered in the gardens a while longer before returning to her rooms in the Red Keep. She was unsurprised to find the Queen waiting for her.

"Ah, there you are little dove." Cersei smiled at the girl. "I thought you might be in need of someone to talk to, after today."

"I understand it had to be done, your Grace." Sansa said quietly and sat down at her vanity. "The King deserves better than the daughter of a traitor." Her small smile was empty, and they both knew her words were as well.

Cersei smiled wryly. "In truth, it is better this way Sansa. Surely you understand that." She said. "Do you know why I was so hard on you?" She asked and came to stand behind the girl, starting to remove the pins from the elegant hair style.

"Because you wanted me to be a proper wife for King Joffrey." Sansa guessed, not reacting as the Queen roughly yanked at her hair.

"No, you silly fool." Cersei said and tossed the pins on the vanity. "I was hard on you, because you reminded me so much of myself at your age. I didn't want to see you break down when the reality of being Joffrey's queen fell down on you. You needed to understand what it means to be queen, and that it is no song." She began to brush the girl's hair. "You would have been a better Queen than that conniving bitch Margaery." She muttered.

"I….thank you." She said quietly, watching Cersei's face in the mirror. "What do I do now?" She asked softly, deferring to the woman in the hopes of figuring out the strange mood Cersei was in.

"Now you try to survive, any way you can." Cersei said quietly. "Befriend Margaery, if you can, and hope she does not consider you a rival. She may, you are the greater beauty, but if you make it clear that you do not want to be Joffrey's wife…she might believe you." Cersei advised. "Also, I am here to tell you that my father wishes to see you tomorrow morning in the office of the Hand."

Sansa swallowed. "Why would he wish to see me?" She turned her head.

"I don't know, little dove." Cersei placed a hand on Sansa's shoulder and squeezed hard, nails digging into skin. "But you will *not* speak ill of the King, do you understand?" She said with a pleasant smile on her lips. "After all, Joffrey has been nothing but merciful."

Sansa's eyes watered with pain but nodded. "The King has always treated me with kindness." She whispered.

"Remember that tomorrow." Cersei released her shoulder and left the room.

Sansa went and bolted the door to her rooms and massaged her sore shoulder. After three years trapped here, did the Queen think she was ignorant of the rules? Take the abuse, and pretend it never happened. They all expected her to just be their pretty victim when they needed it, and she was so tired of doing what they wanted.

She walked to her balcony and looked out over Black Water Bay. She was so very jealous of the people on those ships, watching them sail away from this city whenever they pleased. She sat down on her chair and noticed a piece of paper, tucked under the edge of a vase. She gently pulled it out and unfolded the heavy parchment.

My new friend,

I so enjoyed our talk in the gardens today. I do hope you found it equally enlightening. I was pleasantly surprised to find more than I expected behind your shield of polite manners. I write to warn you that the Hand has ordered your presence to his offices in the morning. I must confess it is partly my doing, and I suggest that you tell him the truth of what he wants to know. He understands your worth, where Cersei and the King have conveniently forgotten it. I know better than to ask you to trust me, but consider my advice. Lord Tywin is many things, but he is no fool. If you tell him the truth, you may find your situation bettered.

V

Sansa smiled and went to the fire, burning the note immediately. It would be a risk to tell Lord Tywin the truth, but perhaps it was time to take a risk. She undressed and slipped into her bed, mind whirling around the events of the day.

W.I.N.T.E.R.I.S.C.O.M.I.N.G.W.I.N.T.E.R.I.S.C.O.M. I.N.G.

Sansa swallowed and squared her shoulders as she was shown into the office of the Hand. It was hard to be in here, remembering her father once sitting where Lord Tywin now was. In spite of the emotions assailing her, she walked forward and gave a half curtsey, a show of respect.

"You wished to see me, my Lord?" She asked in a questioning tone.

Lord Tywin looked at the girl and nodded. "Sit child." He gestured to the chair across from him. He took a moment to look at her, really closely evaluate her. She was painfully young, and there was a depth to her eyes that spoke volumes to him. He'd seen it in the eyes of soldiers wearied by too many years of battle. It was disturbing to see that in the eyes of a young girl. "I want the answers to a few questions, Lady Stark. You will answer them honestly, I trust?" He said.

"I will try to, my Lord." Sansa said carefully, clearly hesitant.

He made a slightly disapproving sound. "Varys warned me that you would be hesitant…and I must say I was hoping for him to be wrong this one time. A simple yes or no will suffice, and you need not fear my daughter's reprisal. From this moment you are my ward." He said simply. "Now, have you been mistreated Lady Sansa?"

Sansa's throat tightened and after a long pause she nodded, ever so slightly.

Tywin rubbed his temple. "I had suspected as much. By my grandson, or others?" He asked.

"Yes to both, my Lord." She said. "The king usually ordered his King's guard to hurt me for him." She whispered.

"Were you…dishonored?" He phrased delicately. If she had been raped he would be beyond furious with his daughter's utter negligence.

Sansa colored at the implication and shook her head. "No…I haven't been hurt like that." She said softly.

Tywin nodded. "You'll have an escort at all times, and for the foreseeable future you will not be attending court." He said with a firm tone.

"As you wish, my Lord Hand." She said and nodded.

"I will also see that you are provided with a more suitable staff than one low-born handmaiden." He said, wanting Tyrion's whore far away from the girl. "Once you have had an opportunity to settle into the Tower of the Hand we will have a further discussion about your future." He said. "I would advise you to begin giving thought to what you would wish your life to look like, so that you are prepared to discuss things rationally." He said.

She nodded quietly. "I will my Lord." She said and with another wave of his hand she was dismissed. She left the room and was surprised to have two of Lord Tywin's red cloaks fall into step with her.

"Your new chambers are this way, my Lady." One of the men said and escorted her to the rooms that had been hers when her father had been the Hand. They had been made up for her already and a couple of maids were waiting there.

They introduced themselves and a third young woman appeared. She gave an elegant curtsey. "I'm Dolemea, your new Handmaiden." She smiled kindly. She looked to be a handful of years older than Sansa with black hair, and warm brown eyes.

"A pleasure to meet you Dolemea." Sansa smiled "I'm Sansa." She would miss Shae, but she knew that Tyrion's father had to have had his reasons for removing the woman from her service.

"I was thinking it would be nice for us to spend a little time in the gardens before lunch, while the maids finish moving your things into your new rooms." The woman suggested and with Sansa's nod of agreement she swept the younger girl out into the sunshine.

It was a beautiful day and Sansa found herself relaxing as she sat by the fountain and worked on some embroidery with her new handmaiden. The other woman was kind, and clearly high-born. She seemed to know just how to engage Sansa's thoughts away from her changing circumstances.

"Dolemea, where are you from?" Sansa asked.

"From the west, my lady." She smiled softly. "My father is Lord Tywin's bannerman, and I've been a companion for Lannister women since I was fourteen." She explained.

"You've never married?" Sansa asked.

"I'm the youngest of six daughters of a minor lord, Lady Stark….prospects for me have been few. However, I enjoy the freedoms this arrangement provides me." She smiled gently. "However, from what I hear, it will not be long before you are married." She said.

"Lord Tywin has said that we will discuss my future after I've had a chance to settle in." She nodded, knowing that it was only a matter of time before Lord Lannister married her off to someone he felt he could control. She looked at her handmaiden. "What can you tell me of Lord Lannister?" She asked hesitantly.

"He is not a man who suffers fools easily." Dolemea said, setting her needlework down. "If you wish him to take you seriously, and treat you with respect, you need to show him that there is a mind in your head. He has no time for the silliness of maidens, nor for empty courtesy." She warned.

"So I should be frank, when we speak." Sansa said, understanding a little.

"Yes, and brave. He *is* a frightening man, and you'll need to have nerves of steel if you choose to press him. He will respect you for standing your ground, even if he does not relent." She said. "Is there someone you have in mind that you'd wish to wed, my Lady?"

"No…though I do not wish to be tossed to someone vicious or cruel." She said softly. "I've seen enough of that."

Dolemea nodded and touched Sansa's hand comfortingly. "Then I suggest you start to compile a list of suitable prospects. If you simply give him those parameters, he might well marry you to Tyrion." She warned, knowing that while Lord Tyrion was not a bad man…he was hardly what a girl like this dreamed of.

"I just feel like the ground's been stolen from under my feet." She sighed. "It's not to say that I'm not relieved that I don't have to marry the King, I am, but all I ever wanted was to be Queen. I was born to be a great Lady, raised as such, and I will not settle for less." She said firmly.

"That is what you need to say to Lord Lannister. After all, as debts go, they owe you a very large one. All you need do, my Lady, is call it in." Dolemea counselled her. She found herself already very fond of this young woman. That she was even able to stand up straight after all she'd been put through was a testament to her strength. Given the chance, she could be a very Great Lady.

Sansa nodded. "I'll have to think on it." She said, not able to name a single man in King's Landing that she'd willingly marry. They were all liars, and in her eyes guilty of complicity in her father's death and her own abuse. She didn't trust any of them, and she'd be damned if she let this city kill another Stark.

W.I.N.T.E.R.I.S.C.O.M.I.N.G.W.I.N.T.E.R.I.S.C.O.M. I.N.G.

Tywin left the girl alone, giving her some time to settle into the Tower of the Hand. While he didn't approach her, he had taken to watching her. She spent her afternoons sitting with her new handmaiden in the garden reading, embroidering, or even lately relaxing to music. It seemed the Lady Sansa was a lover of music and he had given permission for her to employ a few minstrels to attend her and Dolemea in the gardens. It was a small thing, and seemed to make her more content. He had learned that she was not only a patron of the arts but she had a remarkably true voice of her own, when she thought no one was listening.

The matter of what to do with her was a complicated one. Her greatest worth was her claim to the North, and controlling that through a husband. The issue was really who that husband should be. He'd had requests from many different quarters, but none that he was willing to entertain. Lord Baelish had been the most persistent but something about the thought of handing the girl to him set Tywin Lannister's skin crawling. He resolved to meet with the girl and discuss the matter, and soon.

His page entered and handed him a message, a raven had come from the Twins. He read it and looked to his page. "Inform Lady Stark that she will be dining with me this evening in my rooms." He said and dismissed the man.

"Yes milord." The boy bowed and scurried off.

Things had just gotten far more interesting, and he would see what this girl was truly made of. It would dictate her fate, and possibly that of the war.

H.E.A.R.M.E.R.O.A.R.H.E.A.R.M.E.R.O.A.R.

Sansa came in from the gardens, begging some time alone to compose her thoughts before her dinner with the Hand of the King. Dolemea had understood and withdrawn to her own chambers for the afternoon.

As she shut the door behind her, she had to stifle a cry of surprise. Sitting at her table was Lord Varys. He rose as he saw her and held a finger to his lips.

"We must speak softly, my Lady." He said and gestured for her to sit and join him. "I've been waiting for an opportunity to come and speak with you." He smiled.

Sansa sat down and couldn't help but smile softly at him. "It is good to see you, Lord Varys. I have been very isolated these last weeks."

"For the best, I imagine." He said and poured them both a glass of wine. "I hear that you are to dine with Lord Tywin this evening, and that your marriage may well be decided before the end of dessert." He said conversationally.

Sansa's eyebrows jumped up. "How do you know that?"

"Knowledge is my trade, my Lady." He said gently. He recalled uttering similar words to her mother. "My little birds are everywhere and they whisper to me of the strangest things. In particular, of a letter that came from the Twins early this morning, one that Lord Lannister is keeping very close to his person." He said.

"From the Twins? But the Freys are allied to Rob, why would anyone be sending a message to Lord Tywin?" She frowned and then paled. "Unless they mean…" No, she couldn't lose Rob too.

"To betray him. Your brother made a very dangerous error when he married Jeyne Westerling." Varys said quietly. "Walder Frey is a very small minded, prideful creature. I can only imagine the contents of that letter. I would also assume that in order to retain control of the North, Tywin intends to betroth you to his son Tyrion."

A wave of panic crossed her features and she shook her head. "No…I won't marry him, I can't." She met Varys's eyes. "Please…there has to be something you can do, some way to get me out of the Capital. Then I can warn my brother, save him." She reached over and grabbed the man's hand.

Varys covered her hand with his. "That is, sadly, beyond my power Lady Stark. I can…however…counsel you to a better end. If you will let me." He said. It would be so easy to lead her astray, she was so young and innocent in the ways of the game. No, he could not do it, not in good conscience. Whatever small speck of humanity remained in him wanted to help this poor girl, even if she did not see it as help.

"What can I do?" She asked him.

"Demand no less than Tywin's own hand in marriage." He squeezed her hand to forestall the immediate response. "He is the only man in the seven kingdoms that can protect you from the King, and through marrying you…it would give him incentive to seek peace with your brother. Tell him you know of the letter from the Twins, and swear that if he does as you ask…you will do everything in your power to convince your brother to return to Winterfell and resume his duties as Warden of the North."

Sansa closed her eyes, shaking a little. "Marry Tywin Lannister?" The very thought made her ill inside. She couldn't do this, he was evil and old.

"It is the only way. He is many things my Lady, but he was a good husband to his beloved wife and while he may not love you, he will treat you with the respect you are due. That is more than you could hope for from most men that would marry you simply for your name. What most would do to you, is not a fate I would want visited on you." Varys soothed her. "You are a Stark, my Lady…what does the wolf have to fear from the lion?"

She drew in a shaky breath and lifted her head, looking at him. "I'm afraid."

"No matter what happens, remember that I will ever be your friend. If you truly need me, I will be there." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed its back. "I must go. Be brave, my Lady, and things will work out well." He stood.

"Thank you." She said, feeling even more hopeless than before. How was she ever going to do this? She took a swallow of her wine, and let out a breath. Perhaps this was the price the gods demanded of her, for her sins. Maybe, just maybe she could save her brother.

TBC

Reviews always welcome.